


Rumor Has It

by BabyGenius



Category: Julie and The Phantoms (TV)
Genre: Attempt at Humor, F/M, Gen, Humor, Julie Molina is odd, Los Feliz High Notices Things, Rumors, Supernatural - Freeform, The Boys Are Himbos, and don’t think of any consequences, and oblivious, outside pov
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-17
Updated: 2021-02-18
Packaged: 2021-03-08 17:14:38
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,323
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27070303
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BabyGenius/pseuds/BabyGenius
Summary: Class had turned into a study hall, and Julie was seated at the back of the classroom, only empty desks behind her, so they didn’t really have to worry about anyone seeing her hair move on its own. At least, they thought so. They didn’t count on a student taking a break from their work to look around the classroom and noticing the moving hair.The student, Aislyn, cursed, jumping in their seat and banging their knees into their desk. The loud clatter of their pencils and pens falling off their desk drew the attention of the rest of the class and the teacher, Ms. Turner.
Relationships: Alex & Julie Molina & Luke Patterson & Reggie & Willie, Julie Molina & Luke Patterson, Julie Molina & Reggie
Comments: 79
Kudos: 274





	1. The Start of it All

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Don't take my Spot!](https://archiveofourown.org/works/26881345) by [Only_Here_for_JatP](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Only_Here_for_JatP/pseuds/Only_Here_for_JatP). 



> Hey all! I’m back at it again lol. The idea for this one was loosely inspired by Only_Here_for_JatP’s fic “Don’t take my Spot!” so you should go check it out because it’s adorable. Anyway, I hope you all enjoy! I have three other fics I’m working on (one is already published, it’s called Long Live the Dead so go check it out!) three other fics, and I have an idea for another one, so stay tuned!
> 
> Also, if you guys want more from this let me know! I was thinking of maybe doing a reveal where Julie realizes what’s happening at school and maybe something else? Let me know in the comments if you’d like more!
> 
> EDIT: as of right now this is finished, but if I ever figure out where I’d like to go with a second chapter and am able to find the time then I’ll update. Don’t worry though, this works as a stand-alone too!
> 
> Anyway, enjoy!

The boys were very tactile creatures. Since dying, the casual touches they communicated with and used subconsciously had been restricted to just the three of them. Oftentimes they went to nudge Julie, or place a hand on her shoulder, maybe to rub circles into her hand, but, inevitably, they wound up falling through her and making things just a little bit awkward.

Then, the performance at the Orpheum had happened, and all of the events afterward. They could _touch_ now.

Suddenly, they found themselves able to involve Julie in all of their casual touches. Sometimes, even, the boys would poof to her school just to drape themselves over her or rub circles on her back or hands. She would join in, depending on what it was, occasionally carding her hands through their hair.

It was no surprise, though, that Luke was her most frequent visitor. He would poof in to give her impromptu back rubs, or simply to be near her. Flynn would occasionally catch on and give the two of them (though she could only see Julie) teasing looks. Julie would playfully glare back at her and focus on the lesson again.

It was one of those times that Luke had poofed in, offering her a slightly bashful smile before sitting on the desk behind her and beginning to play with her hair. He and the boys had been learning more about styling hair, and Julie was the perfect person to practice on. Luke figured he could do two dutch braids that went into double buns at the crown of her head, so he set to work, carding his fingers through her hair for a bit first.

It had turned into a study hall, and Julie was seated at the back of the classroom, only empty desks behind her, so they didn’t really have to worry about anyone seeing her hair move on its own. At least, they thought so. They didn’t count on a student taking a break from their work to look around the classroom and noticing the moving hair.

The student, Aislyn, cursed, jumping in their seat and banging their knees into their desk. The loud clatter of their pencils and pens falling off their desk drew the attention of the rest of the class and the teacher, Ms. Turner.

“Are you alright, Aislyn?” Ms. Turner asked, walking over with her heels clicking on the tile floor.

Aislyn nodded, forcing themselves to turn their attention to the teacher and away from Julie. “I’m fine, Ms. Turner.”

Luke had stopped in his braiding, but returned after the teacher smiled at Aislyn and clicked back to her seat. Aislyn turned back to their work, determined not to pay attention to the hair moving on its own. After class, when they met up with their friends, they couldn’t help but tell them about what had happened in class.

“I’m telling you, Julie Molina’s hair was moving on its own! It was braiding itself!” Aislyn insisted, their gaze fierce. They held their chin in their hands and seemed to think for a moment. “In surprisingly well done dutch braids, too.”

“Oh come on, Ash, hair doesn’t braid itself!” Viv scoffed, stuffing a french fry in his mouth.

“By the time class was done her hair was in two perfectly done mini dutch braids that ended in buns, and I hadn’t seen her lift even a finger to do her hair at _all_.” Aislyn pointed their fork at their friends before shoveling the bite of chicken and rice into their mouth, chewing for a second and swallowing.

“You sure you weren’t just seeing things?” Lorelei asked, raising a perfectly-defined eyebrow skeptically.

Aislyn shook their head vehemently. “No, I’m not seeing things, Julie’s hair was moving on its own.”

Mia scoffed, “Yeah, okay,” and changed the subject smoothly.

Aislyn pouted for a second before joining in on the banter, putting the events of that morning out of their mind.

For now.

——

They were playing dodgeball, this time, as a slight breakaway from normal dance class, and Reggie had come to hang out and just be near her. Julie was doing a pretty good job, actually, and had managed to get several people out so far.

“We could have a movie night tonight!” Reggie suggested, shooting Julie a pleading look.

Julie cocked her head slightly to the right sharply, the sign they had come up with when she meant yes but couldn’t say it for obvious reasons (people thinking she was talking to herself).

It happened really quickly, actually. Julie looked down to jump back from being hit by a ball and didn’t see the purple orb flying at her face, launched by a particularly vengeful member on the other team.

“Julie look out!” Reggie cried. Playground balls _hurt_ when they hit as hard as this one was about to (Reggie would know, he’d been nailed in the stomach a couple times when he was still alive).

Julie’s eyes widened, her arms starting to come up to protect her face, but they wouldn’t get there in time. Reggie threw his hand up, the ball slamming against it and falling to the floor like nothing had happened.

The person who threw it was gaping, but nobody else seemed to notice, and Julie continued playing like nothing had happened once she calmed her heart.

Juan gaped. There was no way Julie Molina should have been able to block that on time (he hadn’t meant to almost hit her in the head, he had just released a little too soon). Her hands hadn’t even been near the ball! It had just seemed to collide with—with this invisible _force_ before falling to the ground.

Juan looked around for a split second, hoping someone else had seen that, but they were all too preoccupied. He shook his head and launched back into the game with a new fervor, but the other team wound up winning, anyway. He sighed, rolling his shoulders as he went to the locker room. His team never wound up winning, but that was fine.

He was stripping his shirt off, listening to the other boys joke around and talk about the game. He tentatively started, “I threw a ball, and it almost hit Molina in the face but something stopped it.”

Ralph scoffed. “Yeah, dude, her hands, right?”

Juan shook his head, tugging the clean shirt on. “No, it was something invisible. Her hands weren’t even halfway up to her face when the ball would have hit.”

“I’m sure your eyes just didn’t see it because it was so fast,” Ben assured, patting Juan on the shoulders with a smirk.

Juan rolled his eyes. “Yeah, okay, fine. I’m telling you, though, there’s something up with her.”

Viv scoffed. “You and Ash should meet. They had an equally ridiculous story.”

Juan looked up from where he had bent over his backpack to zip it up. “Yeah?”

“Yeah, says Julie’s hair did itself.”

“Wait what?”

“I know, ridiculous, right?” Viv laughed, pulling his backpack over his shoulders and walking out of the locker room without saying anything else.

Juan almost absentmindedly slung his backpack over his shoulder, leaving the locker room. He’d have to see about finding Aislyn so they could trade stories. Something was up with Julie Molina.

He managed to catch Aislyn between third and fourth periods by calling out to them. “Aislyn! Hey, can I talk to you?”

Aislyn nodded, checking their watch quickly before looking back up. “Yeah, sure, what’s up?”

“Viv said you were in Julie Molina’s class and saw something weird?”

Ash’s eyes immediately narrowed into a glare. “What, have you come to make fun of me too?”

Juan shook his head earnestly. “No, no, that’s not it! I was just….wondering what you saw?”

Aislyn snorted. “You sure? ‘Cause you don’t sound very sure, dude.”

“Yes! Yes, I’m sure.” Juan looked at them pleadingly. “C’mon.”

They sighed, rolling their eyes. “Fine, but I need to get to anatomy, so I hope your next mod is in that direction.”

“Yeah, I have photography, actually.”

Ash started off toward the anatomy class, Juan following behind them. “So we were in trig, right? The lesson was done and we had a worksheet we needed to complete. But, halfway through the worksheet, I look up and see Julie’s hair doing itself. Like, it was doing this really cute double dutch that ended in buns at the top of her head. She wasn’t touching her hair at all.”

“Are you sure she didn’t just stop while you weren’t looking or something?”

Aislyn shook their head. “See, that’s the thing, I kept an eye on her for the rest of class, and by the time class was dismissed the hairstyle was completely finished and I hadn’t seen her lift a finger to do it. Her hands never went anywhere near the top of her head.”

“Woah, that is weird.” Juan tripped a little as he almost ran into a locker, causing Aislyn to let out a small laugh. He cleared his throat.

“So, why’re you asking about this?”

Juan shrugged and explained what had happened in gym class, gesturing around wildly as Ash’s eyebrows climbed steadily higher. They barked a laugh, tinged with a slight hysterical note.

“I knew it!” They cried, pumping their fist in the air. “I knew I wasn’t crazy!”

Juan laughed with them, but stopped after a second, his eyebrows drawing together as he realized something. “Wait, but how is she doing this? Is she like…a witch? How’s she able to do it?”

Aislyn _hmm_ ed in thought. They stopped by the door to their classroom. “I…do not know. I’ll think about it. Here wait, here’s my email.” They scrawled out their email, making sure to make it legible. “Email me later? We can talk about it then.”

Juan nodded. “Yeah, sure!”

Aislyn went into their classroom, then, and Juan speed-walked to his, making it just before the late bell rang.

——

So far the only conclusion they had come to was that Julie was a witch or some other magical entity. The number of incidents had steadily increased, amounting to two or three a week on average, and more and more people had begun to seek out Juan and Aislyn.

<>Incidents like Julie dropping her pencil and it floating up to rest on her desk without her even bending over. Or like little notes adding themselves to her assignments even when she had been writing something else.

Eventually it became a thing. The lesser known people in Los Feliz all knew about Julie and her peculiarities. Julie either didn’t know anybody knew about her, or she was ignoring it. Aislyn wasn’t quite sure.

Aislyn wasn’t really in this to _expose_ Julie or anything, they were just curious. Come to think of it, they were also _very_ curious as to how the whole hologram schtick worked. They’d done some research, and they were pretty sure holograms were not supposed to work the way Julie’s band did. Maybe she summoned them? If she really was a witch, that is.


	2. They What?!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Julie’s never really been one for listening to the rumor mill, but Flynn is a different story.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello guess who’s not dead.
> 
> I am so sorry omfg. Honestly there’s so much going on and I’ve really been focusing more on writing poetry than on writing any fanfiction, and not only am I out of practice but my muse is also kinda dead ngl. This one was kinda fun to write tho. I have so much going on with scholarship applications and trying not to fail classes and all my other stuff that I honestly have not had the brain power to write anything other than poetry so sorry. 
> 
> However, I will probably be publishing a book with all the poetry I wrote this year at the end of the school year so I’ll let you know! I’m kinda super excited actually because I really like it. They’re all decently short, but right now I have about 29 poems at a total of 39 pages and around 9600 words (so _many_ omg), so I’m excited to see how long the book will be once I’m done. 
> 
> Anyway, happy reading everybody!

It was a well-known fact by now that something was up with Julie Molina. It was also a well-known fact that Aislyn O’Reilly and Juan Cortez were the two people that knew the most about it. They had become fast friends while trying to get to the bottom of the Molina Mystery.

Julie, to the knowledge of everyone else, was completely oblivious to the whole thing.

Flynn was another story.

It was three weeks since Aislyn’s first sighting of Julie’s oddity when Flynn approached them at lunch, taking a seat as though it were a perfectly normal occurrence.

“Can we help you?” Viv asked, his eyebrows raised.

“Yep. There’s something going on with the school and Julie, and Aislyn is at the head of it. I want to know what exactly it is.”

Lorelei laughed. “What makes you think anything’s going on?”

Flynn rolled her eyes, pinning Lorelei with a deadpan look. “Come on, I’m not stupid. It started about two and a half weeks ago and the only thing I’ve figured out so far is that it’s something to do with Julie. Tell me what it is.”

Aislyn thought for a moment, and Flynn waited, tapping her toe impatiently. Finally, “We think Julie’s a witch.”

Flynn, to her credit, didn’t flinch, but the corners of her eyes crinkled in ill-disguised amusement. “A witch?”

Aislyn couldn’t help themself. She had spent the past weeks telling this to anyone that would listen, and now she had one of the primary offenders in her little conspiracy listening to her every word. “Yes! Have you _seen_ all the weird stuff that happens around her? Her hair once _braided itself!_ Normal people can’t do that! And dodgeballs will stop before they hit her, and notes will write themselves—some of them with some truly _horrendous_ handwriting, by the way—and those holograms she performs with? _Holograms don’t work that way!_ ” Aislyn finished with a huff, sitting back in her chair and crossing her arms.

Flynn started laughing. A small chuckle at first, before her eyes were streaming with amused tears and she clutched her thighs with a tight grip, bent over slightly in her seat.

Aislyn watched her with a glower, arms still crossed as she waited for Flynn to say something.

“Sorry,” Flynn gasped out, not sounding sorry at all. “I guess you’re not far off. I really don’t want to give you guys the answers, though. That would ruin the fun,” she said, smirking.

“Oh come on!” Aislyn cried, throwing their arms up in the air. “Not even a small hint?”

Flynn shook her head.

“Are you going to tell Julie?” Lorelei asked.

“Yep. Definitely. Her reaction is going to be priceless.”

“Record it for us?” Viv asked, eyes twinkling.

Aislyn scowled at him. “Traitor.”

Viv shrugged. “What? You know I’m right.”

Aislyn found that yes, they did know he was right, but that didn’t change the fact that he was supposed to be on _their_ side.

Flynn grinned. “I’ll do you one better. I’ll tell her tomorrow at our lockers in the morning.”

Aislyn was loath to admit it, but that did sound like something they would bring popcorn to watch.

——

They brought popcorn.

It was very good popcorn too, in a gallon-size Ziplock bag.

There was no sign of Flynn or Julie, but Juan showed up not long after Aislyn had. The rest of Aislyn’s friend group and those that had become entrenched in learning more about the conspiracy trickled in within the next fifteen minutes. Aislyn had to admit that it was probably a very funny scene, them and their friend group hovering around the edge of the lockers like loiterers (even though they were _meant_ to be in school), and other gaggles of students at their lockers with no purpose except looking over at Julie’s locker seemingly every fifteen seconds.

Someone should record this.

Juan, almost as if he’d read their mind, pulled out his phone and slid the camera open to video setting.

It was nearing eight o’clock by the time Julie walked up to her locker, and Flynn greeted her not a moment later. The hallway was dead silent as everyone tried desperately to hear the conversation.

Flynn vibrated with excitement, grinning as she waited for Julie to take notice. Julie quirked an eyebrow at her questioningly and Flynn blurted, “I have something very funny to tell you.”

“Oh?” Julie asked, continuing to shuffle with the books in her locker.

“There’s a rumor going around school,” Flynn led with, milking it for all it was worth before she got to the “big reveal”.

“What’s the rumor about?” Julie asked absentmindedly, letting out a small noise of success when she found the notebook she was looking for.

“It’s about you.”

Julie turned her full attention to Flynn at this, raising an eyebrow. “Do I want to know?” To be fair, the gossip-mongers had been obsessed with Julie ever since her band had come out.

“They think you’re a witch.”

Julie blinked. “Run that by me again?”

“They think you’re a witch,” Flynn said again, bouncing in barely-contained excitement as she resisted the urge to cackle. Aislyn really wished they could see Julie’s face, but a quick look around showed several people taking subtle pictures with their phones. They made a note to themself to ask those students for the pictures later on.

“They—what— _why?_ ” Julie sputtered.

Flynn laughed with unrestrained glee. “People have seen your hair braid itself and your pencils put themselves on your desk and dodgeballs stop before hitting you.”

Julie groaned, a hand coming up to palm her face. “ _No._ ”

“ _Yes._ ”

Aislyn may not have been able to see Julie’s face, but they would bet that Julie was glaring at Flynn.

“I’m gonna kill them,” Julie swore. Aislyn got the feeling that she wasn’t talking about the students, so she desperately wanted to know who _them_ was.

Flynn took a few seconds to stop laughing, finally calming down with a final gasping breath. “C’mon, it’s hilarious.”

“It’s not!” Julie protested. “They all think I’m a _witch_! What am I supposed to do with that?”

Flynn shrugged. “You could always tell them the truth.”

Julie hissed something at too low a volume to catch, and Flynn held her hands up.

“C’mon girl it’s not that bad, I promise.”

“Can I just tell them all I’m not a witch and be done with it?” Julie wondered desperately.

Flynn scoffed. “I doubt it. They’ve noticed something is up, I can’t imagine them just letting it go.”

Aislyn stuffed a handful of popcorn in their mouth, noting everything of importance in their head for later to dissect. They _would_ get to the bottom of what was going on. Though it seemed like it would take a while.

The bell rang, then, interrupting anything further that might have been said. Aislyn and Juan groaned, lingering a few moments longer before begrudgingly heading to their classes.

——

Aislyn almost thought that was it, until Julie marched determinedly up to them, an inscrutable look on her face.

“Flynn says you think I’m a witch,” Julie said as greeting.

Aislyn only froze for a second before gulping. “I can’t think of any other reason for all the weird occurrences around you.”

“I’m not a witch.”

Aislyn shrugged. “Then what are you? Besides, it’s not like we think it’s bad or anything. Well, except for a few assholes, but they suck because of a lot of other things so….”

Julie’s mouth opened quickly, as if she wanted to blurt something out, before she visibly restrained herself.

“I bet it has something to do with those boys in your band, right? The ones you say are Swedish?” Aislyn ventured, lighting up when a brief twitch of Julie’s eye gave her away. “It does! I knew it!”

“It does not!” Julie protested. This was not at all how she had expected this encounter to go.

“I don’t believe you.”

Julie let out a wordless shout of frustration before storming away. She paused, looking at something very specific in the air, but Aislyn couldn’t figure out what. Julie’s hair flew up slightly before landing back on her shoulders, almost as if someone had swatted at it. Aislyn narrowed their eyes in suspicion.

They would figure out what was going on with Julie Molina.

——

“ _Ghosts!_ ” Aislyn shouted, launching up in their bed and sending a fast-paced text to Juan in excitement.

Nobody at school believed them (or, very few, that is). Apparently Julie Molina being a witch was more believable than ghosts existing.

Aislyn, Juan, and their friend group knew better though. Especially after Aislyn saw one of Julie’s boys poof into existence where before there had been no one.

While ghosts were, like, ridiculously cool, though, Aislyn still admitted to themself that Julie being a witch would have been cooler.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright ngl I am not the happiest with the ending but I didn’t know where else to go so that is what you get. 
> 
> Don’t forget to leave comments, kudos, or just general good vibes if you don’t have the energy for the other two (I totally get it dw). I really appreciate all the comments I’ve gotten so far, and how invested y’all were in me finishing this, so thank you for hanging on!

**Author's Note:**

> So how was it? You can let me know in the comments or by yelling at me on my tumblr!  
> my main: blerghfish  
> my jatp fan account: julie-and-the-phat-ones  
> And I’m also running the in-character Caleb ask blog: askcaleb-themagician so go check me out or drop me an ask! I love interacting with people!  
> Anyway, I hope all you lovely people enjoyed! If you don’t have the energy to drop a comment, no worries! The kudos is just a little click 🥺
> 
> Also! I have made a server! It’s for writers, artists, alpha readers, beta readers, and other content creators. It’s also for cheerleaders—people who may not create content, but still like to see the creative process in work and help by cheering others on. https://discord.gg/yUjR2FMV  
> Thank you all for reading and I hope you’re happy, healthy, and safe, or the closest you can get to that!


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